White House Backs Latest Israeli Attacks

The Washington Post (Excerpted) ^ | 06/13/2003 | Glenn Kessler

[DoughtyOne]

White House Backs Latest Israeli Attacks
Focus Shifts to Arab Leaders' Commitment to End Support for Militant Groups

By Glenn Kessler
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, June 13, 2003; Page A22

The Bush administration signaled strong support for Israel's crackdown on militant groups yesterday, effectively abandoning its earlier criticism of the government of
Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon that had sparked an outcry from lawmakers on Capitol Hill and pro-Israel lobbying groups.

In coordinated statements, White House and State Department officials tried to shift the diplomatic focus from Israeli actions to the commitment made by Arab
leaders at a summit last week in Egypt to cut off funding and support for terrorist attacks against Israelis. Secretary of State Colin L. Powell made that point in a
round of phone calls to Arab foreign ministers, officials said.

Truncated as per our agreement with the Post.

Link to full text

[DoughtyOne]

Read it and weep terrorists! The friggen gig is up! You're public enemy numero UNO!

[Howlin]

They'll be a lot of disappointed people right here in River City.

[tomahawk]

President Bush comes through again. What a man!

[DoughtyOne]

If the Post's perception of this is correct, we have a new policy regarding Israel and terrorism. Thank God!

[PoorMuttly]

Muttly willing to eat any terrorist his President manages to chase into the backyard.

Muttly waiting.

[joesnuffy]

Secretary of State Colin L. Powell made that point in a round of phone calls to Arab foreign ministers, officials said.

Hopefully Powell can get our money back...the tax payers $50million he gave Arafat a couple of weeks ago If the headlines tomorow read ARAFAT DEAD ...then I will be a believer

[justshe]

Oh my.......

Well now......there are going to be some folks doing some reevaluating, me thinks.

[DoughtyOne]

Well if this is true, Bush deserves kudos. We have had a thirty year policy of acting like we kept Israel tied in our bedroom closet, afraid to let it out, afraid to say we actually supported it's efforts to eradicate terrorists.

Bully for Bush.

[Shermy]

the commitment made by Arab leaders at a summit last week in Egypt to cut off funding and support for terrorist attacks against Israelis.

Meaning: they got intel Saudi told Hamas "go!"

[DoughtyOne]

Joe, if that money is used to get the Palestinian act together with regard to cracking down on terrorists, I'm all for it. Israel itself has forked over millions in the last week for the Palestinians to rebuild their police force.

This is something that will have to be part of the process if we expect any leader of the Palestinians to survive actually enacting a crackdown.

That doesn't mean that Israel should lay off swatting terrorist like flies though.

There aren't just two sides to the middle east conflict. There's Israel, the Palestinians, and third fourth fifth sixth... parties which are terrorist in nature. The two main parties need to deal with Israel eradicates terrorist parties to this mess.

[DoughtyOne]

Well may be, sadly.

[DoughtyOne]

...parties need to deal WHILE Israel eradicates terrorist parties to this mess.

[Robert_Paulson2]

nice catch on the article.
hope it's not spin, but substantive action on our part... to shut hamas off for good.

[section9]

Excellent. Open Season on the Jihadi.

No Bag Limit!

Watch Yasir squirm as his field commanders are picked off one by one.

Hamas will overreach, of course. They will commit some unspeakable outrage against Israeli children, women, or old people. When you hear that Home Front command has issued an "Order 8", a reserve callup of able bodied Jewish men both in Israel and in the diaspora, you will know that the hammer is soon to fall on Gaza.

Be Seeing You,

Chris

[Bobby777]

White House Backs Latest Israeli Attacks

good job, Mr. President ...

[lizma]

This is great news. Bush has given the State Department alot of leeway, gave them a try and it looks like he's fed up with their RBI of zero. (I realllly hope so.)

Next I'd like to see him pull out the gravy train on most of the countries in the ME. It's their choice. You aren't gonna support us and do what we ask, fine and dandy. It's up to them. Just like it would be our decision not to invest in them if they don't support us. Makes sense to me at least.

All we would be doing is not giving a gift to ungratefuls. Miss Manners would concur.

[TomServo]

They'll be a lot of disappointed people right here in River City.

Nah - *he'll* take credit for it. *He's* had it planned the whole time. But good...

[DoughtyOne]

I sure hope so.

[marron]

There will never be an independent West Bank while Hamas walks the earth. They are the enemy of any West Bank Authority they do not control.

Of course, I am of the stated opinion that there will never be an independent West Bank in any case, no matter who wants it, no matter how many times it is announced, no matter how sincere the announcement. A West Bank separate from Jordan and Israel is destined, doomed, to be a lawless enclave, and lawless enclaves are destined, doomed, to be ruled by lawless men.

In such places, ordinary people who want to work and raise their families will always leave; the only ones who remain are those who have accepted to live under the rule of psycho killers, which means that the people who remain are complicit in their own misery.

On what, apart from Israel and Jordan, is the West Bank to base its economy? By what logic does the West Bank exist as an independent country, separate from Jordan and Israel? The old province of Palestine was divided into a sliver for the Jewish settlers and refugees, and the rest for the Arabs; the Jewish portion was named Israel, and the Arab portion was named Jordan. By definition any land not belonging to Israel, is Jordan. The disputed West Bank is either part of Israel by conquest, or a part of Jordan per the original partition, or will be under some kind of shared administration to be negotiated between Jordan and Israel, the only rightful parties to the dispute. If Jordan does not want to enter into the discussion, then the area falls to Israel by default. Aside from Jordan and Israel, no other countries have any standing in this discussion.

But in any case, neither Jordan nor Israel will ever be able to effectively adminster the West Bank while Hamas continues to operate. Job One is the annihilation of Hamas and anyone who wants to join them in Hades.

[DoughtyOne]

This is a time when I support Bush on this effort. I think his instincts on this just went up a great deal.